Friends
by elea121
Summary: My take on how Griffin is saved from the power line.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: These characters and this world do not belong to me. I just love to play with them and give them back.

It hurt like hell. And he was so thirsty. Griffin didn´t know how long it had been since David had left him, but to him it felt like hours.

He had tried to free himself out of this trap but he had failed.

And he didn´t think that David would be coming back, he didn´t think that David was still alive.

What a shame, they could have killed Roland together and with this help so many other Jumpers survive. But because of his girlfriend David had left him here to die.

It wouldn´t be long now. He could see them coming already. Not the fighters, they had gone to the south while continuing fighting. No, there was a SUV coming with two people in them. He couldn´t see them from this far and doubted that he knew them, but they were Paladins, he would bet his life on it. He smiled a little on this thought. When he was right, he would lose his life, so it would be so much better if it were not true.

But at least they would end this suffering. And if he was lucky, they would be quick about it.

The car stopped a few feet away from him. A man around forty and a woman about his own age got out of it. The man was clearly in charge of this operation. They went to build a kind of platform out of the debris around. So they wanted to get him out of this and play a little. If their intentions were just to kill him, they could have done that with one of their strange looking guns. Not good.

Finally the man put some synthetic gloves on, stepped on the debris and begun to extract Griffin out of the net of wires. Suddenly he was free and dropped to the ground. He landed hard on the ground and his breath went out of him. He thought a moment about jumping – this was probably the only chance he would ever get – but his nerves still quivered too much after his time in the tower. He needed a moment to recuperate.

He didn´t got this moment. He felt a net restrain his movements and then there were electroshocks again. Not so strong as before, but still enough to make him wince in pain. He was roughly rolled on his back and looked up at them through slitted eyes.

"He will not last much longer. If we want him to stay alive until on of the high up´s come to kill him, we will have to give him something." This was the woman.

"Get his prints and check if we have to call someone to terminate him. It would be better if we did it now. Even for him... I wouldn´t have wanted to stay in that electrical tower out there in the sun for hours and hours. "

She went and took his fingerprints. Then he heard her scanning them into a computer. After a view moments there was a signal from the computer and he heard the surprised intake of breath. So she heard of him, hadn´t she?

"I think we should call for Roland."

"Roland?" Griffin heard the man go to the car. "Yes, I think you are right."

He took out his mobile and called a long number.

" I want to speak to Roland...He is not there?...We have Griffin O´Conner in our custody, shell we wait for Roland?...You don´t know where he is?...Good, we take him to our place and wait."

Then there was the woman again, peering down at him.

"I think if we must hold him, we need to use some other jumping restrains. With this still on I will not be able to get a syringe into his vein. And I don´t think he can stand it much longer."

The man must have given his consent because she went to the trunk of the car and got a briefcase. She opened it up beside Griffin and took out some manacles and shackles and put them on his wrists and ankles. After that she leaned down.

"Don´t try to jump. This here will hold you as good as the tower did. When jumped they give you a good shock and you will stay here, believe me. Do you understand?"

Griffin didn´t want to answer the question. He hated them, so he just glared back. But she waited and finally he backed down. The pain was simply to much. And if there was the chance that it would stop he had to take it. Even when it meant to be a prisoner to the paladins. So he nodded.

She did something with the net he could not see and then it went slack and stopped giving him electric shocks. The absence of it was wonderful. Just for the pain to be gone. He closed his eyes.

Suddenly there was a small pain in his arm. He looked up and saw that she had injected an IV. Then she affixed it to some of the debris and went to talk with the man in a low voice he couldn´t catch. Then she went again to the car and got an awning and put it over him and some of the debris so there was a small room and he could still breath.

On the bad side he now couldn´t see much more, on the good side he was out of the sun. He didn´t know what to make out of this. Did he look so bad that they would take such measures to make him survive until his slaughtering? Or was something human still left in these paladins?

With the absence of the pain and the fluids they were giving him, his defiance worked up again. What could he do now? How could he get out of this situation?

And than he could hear them. Two jumps nearby.


	2. Chapter 2

This one is rather short, but it was sitting like this for a few days on my computer now... Bye the way, I´m not a native speaker, so please forgive me if a get anything wrong.

DISCLAIMER: These characters and this world do not belong to me.

Griffin listened very hard. It had been two jumps nearby. He would guess that somebody had jumped to the place and jumped away again after seeing the two Paladins.

But who could be the jumper? His best guess would be, that it was David, checking on him. Yet this could only be true if one assumed that David had gotten away from Roland. Alive. But that was not very likely.

So possibly someone else. But this someone had jumped away to save himself. Not that Griffin could blame him.

The two Paladins were discussing something. Obviously the woman was nervous but the man just tried to calm her down. Then he sent her to the car to get more weapons. After that he leaned down to Griffin.

"Who do you think this was, little Jumper? Do you hope to escape with his or her help? Before that will happen, I will kill you myself." The tone in his voice was mocking and he drew a knife. He put it onto Griffins throat. "How I would love to put you out...mh...maybe later."

Then the woman was there with some weapons. Griffin could see how she handed some of the weapons to the man who in turn gave her the knife.

"Watch him and make sure nobody comes near. Kill him if necessary." Then he was gone.

Griffin tried to sit up. She eyed him wary but did not object to it. He felt the world spin around and put his back to some of the debris to steady himself.

Then suddenly there was a jump again. And again and again. He heard the Paladin swearing. It sounded like one of those dances Griffin liked to dance so much himself. Suddenly one of the Paladins weapons wasfired and something struck. But the jumping continued, so Griffin assumed that the Jumper had not been hit.

Think, think, think... How could he get out while the fighting still went on? Nothing came to him. Jumping was out of the question, even without the restrains he would still need a little time to mend before he could give it a try. And to struggle while his hand and feet were bound seemed like not such a good idea. Nevertheless he tried to get on his feet.

"Down!" Suddenly the girl was behind him and held the knife very close to his hollow. He stopped moving immediately. Still she grasped some of his hair with her other hand and bent his head back. While he breathed hard he waited for her to cut his throat. This was it then. No more games.

But nothing happened. He suddenly realised that the jumping had stopped. Except for his breathing there was not sound. Something had happened outside and he didn´t know what it had been. But if the Paladin had won, he would have said something to the woman. So it could only mean that the Jumper had taken the Paladin somewhere else. And hopefully he would survive and return.

Then there were two jumps very close to each other and suddenly the awning was gone. Then he heard a voice with an American accent.

"Griffin, still alive, eh?"


	3. Chapter 3

Be warned, in this part there is some swearing by Griffin.

DISCLAIMER: These characters and this world do not belong to me.

Maybe he had hallucinations. Griffin closed his eyes and opened them again.

But David was still standing there, smirking down at him. That bastard! Couldn´t he come sooner? Preferably before the Paladins had appeared here?

That brought him back to the imminent problem of a knife at his gorge and the nervous girl who held it in her hands. He could feel her hand shaking slightly. Obviously she hadn´t been in a situation like this before. The question was if she was fanatic enough to kill him. Even while another Jumper was there and could transport her strait into hell – not that he thought that David would do such a thing. But she wouldn´t know.

"I think you should really let him go." Trust David to chat in a situation like this.

"You will leave or I will kill him." The girl seemed to gather some confidence. It appeared to be high time that Griffin said something.

"You will also kill me if he leaves." His voice sounded strange. A little rusty. What a little time in an electric tower with no water could do. "If you are not doing it yourself, love, than one of your friends will."

"I´m not your love." She did not deny the other part of his statement.

"You know, I think he is right. So before somebody is going to get hurt or killed, please let him go." David was still in a conversational tone but Griffin could see how he checked the surroundings.

While this two seemed to be at some stalemate, Griffin went into action. He hurled his body back onto the women in the hope she would loose the knife. She was nearly knocked out by his head. And she did loosen the hold on the knife. Jet still not enough, because he could feel the blade give him a deep cut. So his other scar would get one nice little companion.

Suddenly there was David throwing himself against the other side of the girl. Abruptly Griffin was free. But with his hands and legs bound he just stumbled down to the ground again. Blasted! He was used to fight his way free and now all he could do was sit tight and let somebody else do it.

The girl had dropped the knife and had one of the other Paladin weapons in the hand. With this she was charging David who in turn jumped away.

Griffins eyes felt on the car. Maybe there were some weapons left? So he tried to crawl to it. It took some time, but finally he made it. After shifting through some things he found one of this strange Paladin weapons which cast a net. He had seen it working before so he thought he could use it. He let himself fall out of the car and looked back to the fight.

David obviously didn´t want to kill the woman. Otherwise she would be dead. If it where Griffin fighting, she would be well on her way to hell by now.

He waited for the right moment, than he launched the net-thing. She fell like a rook.

"Griffin you look terrible." David had jumped to his side, ignoring the Paladin.

"Thanks a lot. Please remind me to whom I owe that pleasure?" Griffin was to beat to be really angry about Davids remark. He let himself slip to the ground.

"We need to leave. We have to get you to a doctor. I don´t know if this cut will bleed you dry." David now sounded worried. Crap.

"Can´t jump with this on, at least that is what that woman said. I didn´t wanted to test it."

"First find something to stop the bleeding." David begun to search through the SUV, finding the first aid kit. Then he bandaged Griffins neck and stepped back.

"Not really the work of a master, but it will do. Now, where to find the keys?"

David wandered to the girl still caught in the net. One could see the electric shocks she was receiving. Good, let her taste some of their own medicine.

"Where are the keys?" The Girl just mutinous stared back and said nothing. "Look, my friend here needs a doctor and I don´t have time for games."

"Let him die. You all should never have lived. You are freaks to the human race." She finally spat.

"Thanks for that one, lady. And what are you people? Some murdering bastards?" Griffin couldn´t help himself and shouted at her.

"Griffin..." David turned to the woman again."Well, lets make a deal. Obviously you are not going somewhere. And we could drop you into a nice little pool with some friendly sharks. You like this thought? If you give us the keys, we will leave you here. Alive."

"David, she is a Paladin..." Griffin muttered but was being ignored. By both of them.

David and the girl stared at each other for some time, only slightly hindered by the electricity flowing. Finally she said. "They are in one of my pockets. If you want them, you have to shut of the weapon."

David nodded and went to her. After a little struggling with the net-thing the woman was released.

"So now careful and slow. We all want to leave this place alive. So don´t do anything stupid." David was eyeing the woman cautious.

Griffin snorted at that.

She slowly dug into a pocket of her trousers and got out some keys. After a moment of hesitation she was handing them to David.

"Stay there and let me see your hands." David said the moment before he jumped back to Griffin. He opened the locks. And put the restrains away.

"So now we are good to go. Hold tight Griffin."

"You have to make a few jumps. I don´t want her to follow us with one of her weapons." Griffin tried to give some advice.

"Yes, I know Griffin. I´m not a rookie."


	4. Chapter 4

So, finally this is the last chapter in this story. I hope you have enjoyed it.

DISCLAIMER: These characters and this world do not belong to me.

In a swirl they went to four different locations. One was a busy street in London, one was some kind of remote beach, one was on the great wall in china and then they where standing in front of a small hospital.

Griffin was trying to get his footing. Then he was dragged into the reception area.

"Help, we need a doctor! We where ambushed by three man and they got my friend here with a knife. I patched him up with the first aid kit of my car but I think he needs more help!"

The woman at the counter immediately called for help and some medics came to fetch Griffin. They put him on a gurney and carted him to some room made for physical examinations. While leaving he heard the woman they "Does he have any insurance?" "No, I pay cash, they didn´t get the money."

The doctor in charge examined him and sutured his bleeding wound. Then he went to his leg. "You also sprained your ankle. You should be careful with it for a bit... Still I think you can go home in the evening. For your information, we have to call the police because of the ambush. I`m sure they will want to talk with you." By the time the police would be here, Griffin was very sure of it, he would be gone.

The doctor left and a nurse cleaned the other cuts and bruises and put on an IV again. Something with antibiotics if he heard correctly. Finally he was rolled out into what he assumed to be an observation room. Than he was alone again.

Not for long, because David strolled into the room.

Griffin just looked up. Now what to do with him. On one hand they had fought and David had left him in the tower – not a bad move to throw him there by the way – on the other hand David had come to his rescue. Even if it had been a little late.

And David had become an acquaintance to him, maybe even a friend. Griffin didn´t know if he should call David a friend. But he was the only one that had come this close to him in the last few years. Griffin realised that he had missed someone to talk to, who could understand the situation. Of course if one didn´t count this murdering bastards of Paladins. And they hunted David anyway, with or without a connection to Griffin, so if he would be killed in the fight, it would not be because they where friends.

If they where friends of cause. This had yet to be decided.

Since David just stayed silent, it was up to Griffin to begin the conversation.

"And, did you save your girlfriend?"

"Yes, I saved her form the Paladins. I jumped her to a place I hope is save as long as I´m here. I had to see how you are faring."

"Why should you care? You left me in a middle of a bloody war zone. One could imagine what would come out of that." A little venting always helped him.

David seamed a little taken aback at this outburst. Then he said a little warily "I thought that maybe we are … friends?" The statement ended somehow like a question.

Griffin snorted "Than one could wish for more enemies, if you think we are friends. Like I said brother, a very limited run."

David went to the window, than turned back. He suddenly changed topics.

"I think the police is coming for a questioning. Sorry, I couldn´t find a better explanation for all your wounds. We should better leave. Do you think your IV is finished?"

Griffin was a little thrown at the sudden change in theme but looked up to the IV. Than he disconnected it form his arm.

"I think I should go. See you, brother. And don´t think about following me."

"Don´t you want to talk about what happened?" David obviously didn´t want to let him go so easy.

"With you and your girlfriend? No, thank you, I can imagine."

"No, with the whole fight...and the Paladins." David looked a little hopeful and Griffin didn´t had the heard to tell him to go to hell.

"Than go to a save place and I will follow you." Griffin didn´t want to bring David to his last backup place.

Since his first day´s in the fight, he still had a place he could go if his home was discovered by the Paladins. The lair had been a great place. He was a little sorry to see it go. But the Paladins had been there. Just a matter of time until they would be back.

David appeared to be thinking a moment, then he shrugged his shoulders. "OK, if you come it´s great but if you don´t it´s your decision and I won´t bother you again. See you Griffin." Then he was gone.

Griffin stared for a moment at the jump scar. Should he follow? Or should he leave to another place? O hell! He made a spontaneous decision and follow through the jump scar. He landed in some kind of flash bungalow at a very white sandy beach. Oh, so David!

He heard David walk through an adjoin room. But before he could take a look, David appeared again.

"I had to see if she is all right. She is only sleeping."

Griffin let himself fall into one of the comfortable armchairs "By the way, what happened to my safe?"

David looked surprised "Oh, it´s still on that pyramid. You said you would kill me, if I touched it. So I didn´t."

Griffin rolled his eyes. "And what happened to Roland?"

"Ah. I left him in a cave somewhere in the canyons. It will take him some time to get out of it."

Griffin couldn´t believe it. But with David this outcome could have been expected. He didn´t have it in him to kill. Sometime Griffin wished he where still so innocent as well."David, David."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I? I will fetch my safe and bring it to another place of mine. Then I will lay low for a bit and recuperate." Griffin grinned. "Maybe I get a now video game and kill all the heroes."

They where silent for a while. Finally David asked tentative. "Will we meet again?"

Griffin stood up and stretched. "Sure as hell, brother. I have to bother someone. And what else are friends for?"

While still laughing at the expression on David's face he jumped.


End file.
